E3 – Mirror's Edge 2 Developer Commentary

E3 – Mirror's Edge 2 Developer Commentary

As I’ve been writing up E3 news, EA’s press conference has been running in the background. Although listening, I’ve been too busy writing to watch. But when I heard that distinctive 4-note chime, the theme of DICE’s Mirror’s Edge, I immediately switched back to the open tab so as to devote my full attention.

I’ll be honest with you: assuming Fallout 4 isn’t miraculously announced, news on Mirror’s Edge 2 is what I’ve been looking most forward to at E3 this year. “Mirror’s Edge is about mastering the environment. And Mirror’s Edge is about Faith,” opens the presentation. This is, of course, a pun: Faith is the game’s beloved protagonist.

The developer commentary for the highly anticipated sequel to Mirror’s Edge (one of the best games of last generation) featured, amongst other things, concept art and a discussion on how attention to detail informs the art direction of the game. “Everything we do needs to be elegant, minimalistic, and it needs to have a certain attitude.”

Faith’s physicality and freedom of movement are notably juxtaposed to the conformist society in which she lives. With the help of actual parkour artists, the developers have expanded on Faith’s freerunning abilities. “We’re building on the first Mirror’s Edge when it comes to the move sets that Faith has.”

As in the first game, freedom of choice is paramount. There is no one right path to completing a level. “We want the player to be able to experiment and find different paths in the environment.”

Naturally the presentation also featured some mouth-watering footage from the sequel’s conceptual prototype. You can watch the full presentation here. Stay tuned for more news as it arrives.